This month we welcome Professor Brandon Sanderson of UNCP's Department of Art, who shares his work as an artist and educator. Entering his 22nd year as a professor and 28th as an exhibiting artist, Professor Sanderson currently serves as the sixth Director of the Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center and as Professor of Art teaching Printmaking and Drawing. Supporting undergraduate research across the campus including everything from scientific and humanities-based research to jazz composition, the Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center holds a yearly Symposium showcasing student work. In our conversation, Professor Sanderson shares his own story, from growing up on the farm, to work in computer science, which led to development as a printmaker, and his work with arts organizations such as the Artnauts Collective, combining art and social justice initiatives in Ukraine, Sarajevo, South Korea, Bosnia, Columbia, and many other locations.

Since 2013, Professor Sanderson has served as Workshop Coordinator for Frogman's Print Workshops on the campus of the University of Iowa, the largest printmaking workshop in the United States. Sanderson holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from Colorado State University-Pueblo, in Printmaking/Drawing and in Computer Information Systems. He earned his Master of Fine Art degree in Art with a specialty of Printmaking from the University of South Dakota, where he studied under 20th century print and paper artist Lloyd Menard. Prior to his career as an artist, Sanderson worked as a computer programmer and systems analyst.

Since 1995, Professor Sanderson has exhibited in over 575 venues in 65 countries. Recently he has shown in Poland, Palestine, Chile, Bosnia, Uganda, Cambodia, Colombia and Ukraine. He has also held 37 university lectures in 27 states and participated in 81 collaborative studio projects. In 2018 he was the first visiting artist in the West Virginia University Master Printmaking series. He also is a long-time member of the Artnauts international art group, which uses the visual arts as a tool for addressing global change. Professor Sanderson’s work appeared in the nationally acclaimed “Re-Riding History” exhibit, which featured works by 72 contemporary native and non-native artists who responded to the events surrounding the 1875-1878 capture, relocation and imprisonment of 72 Plains Indian warriors at Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida.

Professor Sanderson was recently awarded a number of grants to use his technical and artistic backgrounds to design and prototype art equipment that is cost-effective and accessible to those with disabilities. His current body of work combines laser cutters, CNC machines, 3D printers, and digital drawings with the traditional tools of the printmaking and drawing studios.

Rediscovering Flight ScreenPrint V, by Brandon Sanderson

Learn More:

Brandon Sanderson – Artist Website

www.brandon-sanderson.com

Photo Captions: Artnauts Collective solar panels with soldiers and students in the Ukraine, providing both art as inspiration and also charging stations for electronic devices as well as power for areas where this is unreliable.

Artnauts Collective

www.artnauts.org

Artnauts on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/artnauts/

Artnauts is an artist collective that uses the visual arts as a tool for addressing global issues while connecting with artists from around the world. The name derives from combining the words "art" and "astronaut" as a way to describe the process of exploring uncharted territory in the world at large. The name also denotes an art practice that is "not" art as usual and goes beyond the confines of the traditional or conventional art word, blurring the boundaries between art, activism, and social practice.

Frogman’s Print Workshop

www.frogmans.net

Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center

The Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke stimulates, supports and promotes inquiry, discovery and creativity in scholarship and the arts through mentored research experiences with faculty and other regional, national and international scholars and professionals.

The center facilitates and coordinates preparation in research skills necessary for professional fields and graduate study.

The center is designated to serve as a clearinghouse for undergraduate research and creativity opportunities on and off campus. Undergraduate students presenting their work at conferences are encouraged to apply for a travel grant. Additionally, faculty mentors are encouraged to promote their research agendas through the PURC.

For more information about PURC, please browse our website or call 910.521.6841 or email purc@uncp.edu.

2024 PURC Symposium -- Wednesday, April 10th, 2024 in the Mary Livermore Library Commons Area

https://www.uncp.edu/academics/research/purc-pembroke-undergraduate-research-and-creativity-center/purc-symposium

Find the episode transcript here

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